While Heath Ledger received a Best Supporting Actor nomination, The Dark Knight did not secure a Best Picture nomination, nor a Best Director nomination for Christopher Nolan. However, it did receive a boatload of other technical nominations, including Best Makeup, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, etc.

The list of Best Picture noms is virtually the same from the Golden Globes, save Revolutionary Road has been replaced by Milk. In any case, I find both Best Picture nomination lists somewhat unsatisfying.

Kate Winslet did NOT get two acting nominations, as some had predicted (instead, only Best Actress, and for her performance in The Reader, not Revolutionary Road like at the Golden Globes). Taraji P. Henson, however, did get a nomination for Best Supporting actress, and I’m 100% rooting for her in this one.

Pleasant surprises: Richard Jenkins got a Best Actor nomination for The Visitor, Melissa Leo got a Best Actress nomination for Frozen River.

Biggest WTF: Bruce Springsteen’s “The Wrestler” did not receive a Best Original Song nomination, while Slumdog Millionaire received TWO nominations (out of three). I liked the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack, but that strikes me as a bit ridiculous.

This list puts The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at a whopping 13 Oscar nominations. However, Slumdog Millionaire is close behind, with 10 noms (if you count the two songs separately). Milk and Dark Knight both have 8, while Wall-E has 6, and The Reader, Doubt and Frost/Nixon each secured 5.

/Film commenter Joelnstuff points out (accurately) that Wanted received the same number of Oscar nominations as The Wrestler. Please excuse me while I weep.

What kind of twisted world do we live in where Pitt scores a Best Actor nomination for Benjamin Button but Cate Blanchett doesn’t get nominated for anything (including her far better performance in that same film)?

Hit the jump for the full list.Performance by an actor in a leading role